After nine months of deportation, detention and legal whiplash across multiple states, Kilmar Ábrego García is back with his family.

The 30-year-old father returned to Maryland on Thursday, the latest twist in a chaotic saga that began in March when he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Prince George’s County. What followed was a months-long fight that stretched from Baltimore to El Salvador — and became a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement push.

“I stand before you as a free man,” Ábrego García said in Spanish outside an ICE field office in Baltimore on Friday. “I want you to remember me this way, with my head held up high.”

Trump administration officials have accused Ábrego García of being a gang member and brought criminal charges against him in Tennessee for allegedly helping to smuggle migrants into the country. Ábrego García has denied both allegations.

Here’s a timeline of what we know about Ábrego García and what has happened since he was deported, based on interviews, court records, media reports and press releases.

2011

A local gang in El Salvador extorted Ábrego García’s family for years, according to court records. Ábrego García immigrated to the U.S. illegally around 2011, when he was 16, to live with his brother Cesar, now a U.S. citizen.

2018

Ábrego García moved in with Jennifer Vasquez Sura, a U.S. citizen, and her two children. They made Beltsville in Prince George’s County their home.

2019

March 28

Ábrego García was looking for work at a Home Depot in Hyattsville when Prince George’s County police arrested him. Detectives approached a group of people, including Ábrego García, after allegedly recognizing a member of the MS-13 Sailors Clique, according to a police report. Ábrego García denied being a member of a gang, but was still detained by ICE.

Ábrego García later married Vasquez Sura in a Maryland detention center, according to court filings. She gave birth to their son while he was in jail.

Oct. 10

An immigration judge denied a request for Ábrego García’s asylum but granted him protection from being deported because of a “well-founded fear” of gang persecution back in El Salvador.

He was released and checked in with ICE yearly. The agency never appealed, and the Department of Homeland Security issued him a work permit.

2025

March 12

Ábrego García had just picked up his 5-year-old son from school when he was pulled over and detained by ICE outside an Ikea store in Prince George’s County.

March 15

Ábrego García was deported to El Salvador and confined to a notoriously brutal prison.

March 31

The Trump administration admitted it had mistakenly deported Ábrego García, calling it an “administrative error,” but maintained that the federal courts didn’t have the power to return him.

April 4

At a press conference about her husband’s improper deportation, Ábrego García’s wife, Vasquez Sura, recounted the last thing her husband told her after he was detained.

“Si fueres fuerte, yo seré fuerte,” he said: “I’ll be strong if you are.”

Hours later, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the Trump administration to return Ábrego García to the U.S. by 11:59 p.m. on April 7.

April 7

The Justice Department made an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court of the judge’s ruling to return Ábrego García.

April 10

The Supreme Court rejected the appeal, in part, and told the administration it must facilitate the return of Ábrego García.

April 15

Xinis said in a written order that the Trump administration was ignoring court orders and had “done nothing at all” toward returning Ábrego García.

April 18

Trump told reporters during a White House briefing that Ábrego García was a member of MS-13, which he designated as a foreign terrorist organization in February.

Trump also highlighted a protective order Ábrego García’s wife filed against him in 2021. It was later dismissed.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Vasquez Suarez said the 2021 protective order came after she and Ábrego García were arguing in the car over money. Later, he struck her, leaving her with bruises and a scratch over her left eye, she said. She did not show up to the hearing on the protection order.

April 29

Trump said he could return Ábrego García to the US, but wouldn’t.

But the Trump administration had sent a diplomatic note to officials in El Salvador asking about Ábrego García’s release. Several lawmakers also traveled to El Salvador in April to check on Ábrego García, including Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen.

June 6

Ábrego García was returned to the U.S. He was transferred into custody in Tennessee and charged with human smuggling. He pleaded not guilty.

July 20

Ábrego García’s lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. in Nashville to delay releasing him from jail, as U.S. officials said he would be detained again by ICE and targeted for deportation.

However, the judge decided to let Ábrego García await trial at home in Maryland, finding he did not pose a public safety or flight risk.

Aug. 22

Ábrego García left the Tennessee jail and returned to his family in Maryland to await trial. Within minutes of his release, ICE said they intend to deport him to Uganda.

Aug. 25

Ábrego García reported for a check-in with ICE in Baltimore and was detained. He also petitioned to reopen his immigration case to pursue asylum in the United States.

Oct. 1

Ábrego García’s bid to reopen his asylum case was denied. The Trump administration said in September that Ábrego García is ineligible for asylum as a member of the MS-13 gang. Ábrego García has denied being in a gang.

Oct. 24

The federal government said it planned to deport Ábrego García to Liberia.

Homeland Security officials had been looking to deport Ábrego García to a third country for months, considering Uganda, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and Ghana as options. All three African countries said they would not take him.

Oct. 27

Xinis reaffirmed a temporary order prohibiting Ábrego García’s removal while he challenged the legality of his re-detention with ICE.

Dec. 11

Xinis ordered ICE to immediately release Ábrego García from immigration detention while his legal challenge proceeds.

Ábrego García’s legal team picked him up from the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania a little before 5 p.m., and he was reunited with his family that evening.

The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized Xinis’ order and vowed to appeal, calling the ruling “naked judicial activism.”

“This order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts,” said Tricia McLaughlin, the department’s assistant secretary.

Dec. 12

Xinis ordered that immigration officials could not re-detain Ábrego García, who showed up for a check-in with ICE in Baltimore just a day after he was released from detention.

The judge reaffirmed her earlier order prohibiting Ábrego García’s removal until the case before her is settled.

What’s next for Ábrego García

It’s not clear what comes next for Ábrego García, though it’s likely his legal battle with the Trump administration will continue.

Ábrego García also still faces felony smuggling charges in the criminal court case in Tennessee. The next hearing has been delayed to late January.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.